Just Yours
by Trinity Everett
Summary: His lips tag her forehead, warm but dry, and she lets herself sag deeper into his embrace. Apparently pregnancy makes her a cuddler. Or maybe it's just Castle. She doesn't feel quite the same urges to curl into Ryan's chest the way she does her partner's. - A follow-up oneshot to The Reminder.


**Just Yours**

 **Caskett**

 **A Season 2 AU**

 **Note:** This is a little follow-up oneshot to The Reminder that popped into my head earlier today.

* * *

He's bright eyed when she opens the door, bouncing on the balls of his feet with a vitality she actually considers killing him to try to absorb.

"Hey," he greets, holding out a travel mug of what she knows is tea – delicious, expensive tea, but not what she really wants – as a sort of peace offering for his vigor. "How're you feeling this morning? You look exhausted."

Castle means well. He does. He's trying to be exactly the right blend of concerned, eager, and attentive without being smothering or overwhelming. Some days he succeeds and some days – like today – he fails. At least when it comes to tact.

Cradling his offering to her chest, she gives the scent of peppermint a moment to settle her rolling stomach.

"I look exhausted because I _am_ exhausted, Castle. Your spawn is sucking every bit of energy I'm not expending puking."

"My spawn," he says with no small amount of pride, "thanks you profusely for your sacrifice. At least until they're seventeen and you won't let them go to a midnight movie with their friends. Then you're pretty much the worst."

He's been this way since the day she told him, since she stole the thunder of his three-book deal and continued presence at the precinct, always ready with a bit of optimism and a vision for the future. Sometimes it makes her ache with _want_ for that life he's picturing, sometimes it just makes her roll her eyes.

Today it's somewhere in between.

Snorting, she shakes her head. "Please, they'll sneak out and do it anyway. I did."

Castle's chuckle rumbles through the space, warming her down to her chilled toes. "Me too. Though, for a few of those years it wasn't my mother I was disobeying, but the dorm monitor."

She chances a sip of her tea, waiting to gag. When it doesn't happen, she swallows, letting the heat soothe her abused throat.

Oh, god, that feels good. Her eyes slip shut in relief, popping open when she feels her body sway.

"Whoa, whoa, easy." His arm shoots out, looping around her waist to steady her. "Okay, we need to talk to the doc about this today."

"No shit," she grinds out, accepting his sturdiness anyway. He knocked her up; he can hold her up. "It's 'cause I haven't kept anything down since about seven last night."

His lips tag her forehead, warm but dry, and she lets herself sag deeper into his embrace. Apparently pregnancy makes her a cuddler.

Or maybe it's just Castle. She doesn't feel quite the same urges to curl into Ryan's chest the way she does her partner's.

"We have time. Sit and drink your tea."

It's not an order, but it's not a suggestion either, and she pushes away with enough force to let him know she's not a fan of that. He has the experience with pregnancy, second-hand as it may be, but it's not carte blanche to be overbearing.

"If I sit, I'll sleep. I'll stand."

"Mmm," he hums, circling his palm against her shoulder blades. "Mind if I shut the door at least?"

"Wha?"

Castle chuckles, gesturing to the open doorway. Oh, she hadn't even really let him in, had she? He doesn't seem offended, though, so her manners must not be too lacking.

"Yeah, sure, okay."

Stepping back, she takes another careful pull from her mug. It really is like heaven in a sip, and her fingers reach out for his.

"Thank you. For this, I mean." Not just the tea, but it's a start, really. "It's a new flavor today."

Castle's eyes brighten with his smile. "I used to make it for Alexis whenever her stomach was upset. It always helped her, so I took a gamble that it would do the same for you."

Tears prick at the corners of her eyes. Jesus, he's sweet. Who knew he could be this sweet underneath the cockiness, the perpetual bad-boy stubble, and the come ons.

"That's…" She sniffs, sucking in a deep breath to get herself under control. "Thank you. It is helping, I think."

"Good." His fingers curl at her elbow, drawing her back into his chest. He attempts to smother a smile, but she sees it anyway.

"If you laugh at me for crying," Beckett warns, poking his belly instead of finishing the threat. His answering grunt is put upon and melodramatic, but it fits. Of course it fits.

"I'm not going to laugh at you for crying, Beckett. I value my … extremities too much. Plus, I think it's cute, not funny."

"It's not cute," she grumbles, resting her cheek on his shoulder anyway. "My face scrunches weirdly, my nose runs, my eyes sting. There's nothing cute about that."

"Hmm, I'm gonna have to beg to differ. It is _adorable_."

"And I'm gonna have to get my gun if you don't stop."

Castle squeezes her. "Speaking of your gun…"

She sighs. "This afternoon, after the appointment."

She should've told Montgomery already, but the _Heat Wave_ release and the press it generated along with three homicides have kept her from locking her captain down and having this conversation. But after the appointment today, after she has her instructions and her tentative game plan for this pregnancy, she's going to have to talk to him. She can't keep using bad Chinese food and insomnia as excuses to explain her lethargy and nausea.

"He's going to put me on restricted duty," she warns, sipping her tea again.

"That's okay, I'm always on restricted duty. We'll handle it."

"Cute, Castle. You're not a cop, I am."

"You won't be any less of a cop if you're on desk duty," he murmurs, tapping at her ponytail. "Maybe Nikki Heat will end up on desk duty, too. Oh, she got carried away during a badass take down. Look at the lengths you'll go to help me achieve authenticity, Beckett."

Humor twists at her lips. "Yeah, I'm just a giver like that."

"Best muse ever," he adds, snickering into her temple at her answering huff. "Can't break both my legs unless you want to tell my spawn it was a gesture of love."

"I hate you."

Castle just laughs harder, touching her chin with a gentle finger. She lifts instinctively, meeting him halfway to press her mouth against his.

The kiss is tentative, gentle and slow. Most of their kisses have been since the frantic night they spent together, almost as if they're attempting to atone for their actions. For giving in to the – shit, saying it this way is _all_ his fault – heat between them instead of holding out for longer, for some nebulous time when everything might have fallen into place.

Cupping the back of his neck, she kisses him harder, opening under his lips in encouragement for him to do the same. His breath stutters, but he keeps up, teasing his tongue along her lip.

Better. Much better, Castle.

She pulls away with a quiet smack, coming back just long enough to kiss his bottom lip as he inhales. He tastes like the coffee she shouldn't have, and she toys with going back for more, but they can't. They have to go; the reminder alarm buzzing in her pocket tells her so.

"Go time," he says, cupping her cheeks and coming back for a firm press anyway.

Her body hums, fear and excitement warring with the desire to just stay where they are – or maybe a few feet farther into her apartment. Surely she can reschedule; isn't getting reacquainted with the father of her baby just as important?

"Later," Castle promises against her lips. "After the appointment, after Montgomery, later."

The whine bubbles out before she can stop it. "You're not supposed to be the responsible one, Castle."

He grins, pushing her bangs off her forehead. "You're not supposed to make me be the responsible one. It's just weird."

Her eyes roll, but she manages to step away from him and retrieve her jacket and her shoes from the closet. She sucks down the last of her tea before donning her armor.

"Okay," she says, shaking tension out of her arms and marching toward the door. "Go time. Let's see about this spawn of yours."

"Ours, Beckett. Spawn of ours," he corrects, following her out of her apartment.

"Maybe once I stop puking," she quips, grinning over her shoulder. "Until then, just yours Castle."


End file.
